An introduction, a scare, and a build thread?

“Well, I did it,” I thought to myself as I stared at the ceiling of a hotel room in Moore, Oklahoma. It was sometime in the early morning hours, and I had awoken to the sound of a strange car alarm. “Is that my truck?” I wondered. Having bought just twelve short hours ago the gold ‘05 access cab now sitting in the hotel lot, I hadn’t had an occasion to use the horn at all, much less activate the panic alarm. So I dragged myself out of bed to check—still there, undisturbed and resting after a decent first ride heading north from the lone star state.


I had been on the hunt for a new (to me) vehicle for a while now. I had always driven used, from the day I got handed the keys to my first ride when I headed off to college: my dad’s ‘02 Rav4 with a manual transmission and the fortitude to take me a lot further than it had any business going. When my wife and I needed a bigger (and, though she’d never quite say it out loud, “safer” was probably a factor, too) ride as we expected our first born, I sold that old Rav with a heavy heart and relented to driving my wife’s ‘06 Mazda 3 while she got behind the wheel of our new (and decidedly more domesticated) ‘16 Rav 4. Four years and three kids later, we needed three rows of seats so we swapped the Rav for a ‘20 Highlander hybrid while I continued to make do with the Mazda.

I shouldn’t complain too much about the old “Zoom Zoom” 3, since it, too, went places it shouldn’t have. We took it on our honeymoon to western Montana, and many other rocky mountain camping trips besides. Washerboard roads, gravel, a near miss on a dark highway with a witless deer, alpine trailheads—it saw some action. But a terrible dealer mechanic let it down, putting incorrect brake rotors on it which ultimately caused damage. Long story short, the dealer never owned up to the mistake since an independent mechanic was the one who caught it so I was on the hook. It has served my well enough since, and my commute to work is extremely short, so I never worried about it too much. But the wife never trusted it, it has never really thrilled me, and at 120k+ miles on the clock, it’s at the point where I will have to keep replacing fairly major parts that are wearing out on a semi-regular basis. I wondered if I really wanted to do all that on a car that has very little value (financially or emotionally), or would I be better off replacing it with something still budget-friendly but a bit more satisfying? The search was on.

I rolled this idea around in my head with varying degrees of seriousness for the last three years or so. I started by wanting a Tacoma and ended up lurking a lot on tacomaworld (I ended up starting a membership over there, but never posting). I learned a lot from those guys and gals, including rule number 1: check the frame—a piece of advice which, all by itself, saved me from at least half a dozen truck purchases that would have no doubt ended in heartbreak and financial pain. Ultimately, however, the small size and exorbitant prices of the venerable Taco discouraged me, and my eyes wandered.

I spent some time on ih8mud and considered an FJ, but the prices on those rigs are no better than Tacos, and they are hardly any more practical. Then I learned of the wonderful world of Lexus GX ownership, and started looking in earnest for a sweet American version of the Land Cruiser Prado. But that dream quickly died on the vine, too, with price considerations again causing me to reconsider (I haven’t given up on the idea of owning a vehicle I can turn into an overlander, though. I even briefly looked into importing a classic 80s or 90s G-wagon when I had the bug particularly bad. But I think I’ll happily be a truck guy until the kids are old enough to really appreciate getting out there deep into the wilds, and when I do take the plunge, I’ll stick to the more reliable Toyota/Lexus family).

And so, I was on the brink of giving up the search and resigning myself to driving the Mazda into the ground. I figured with the pandemic-caused shortages jacking prices up to exorbitant rates for everything under the sun, now was not the time. Perhaps I had missed my moment to snag a value vehicle, as the boom on Toyotas and Lexuses seemed to have no noticeable slowdown in sight. I gave up on car searching, which had been a near daily pastime for me, until I started reading more about first gen Tundras.

 

There are some out there who considered the early Tundra as the Platonic ideal of a pickup. Small enough to maneuver and park, big and capable enough to handle nearly any reasonable request (and a few unreasonable ones to boot), and dependable enough to not break your bank account over the life of it (which would guarantee a decent resale value down the road). It was also relatively simple, which is something I definitely wanted after driving the ‘20 Highlander for a while—suffice it to say, I’d rather my driving experience not feel like piloting a space shuttle. So I was back in the game, telling myself if this didn’t work I would have to give it a rest.

I had decided long ago that I could not buy a local vehicle. I live in the northern(ish) parts of Illinois, and we apply road salt like its going out of style, so that was a firm no-go for any used vehicle up here. I kept my searches to warmer latitudes which helped narrow my results considerably, especially since I really needed to try and keep this thing under $10k. But at that price point and distance, mileage was going to be up there, and even though I knew these trucks were reliable, I didn’t exactly relish the thought of taking on someone else’s vehicle after they had squeezed all the best miles out of it already. Plus, I was going to have to depend on a pre-purchase inspection service before I decided to agree in principle on any deal, and trusting a mechanic I didn’t know to inspect a truck I hadn’t seen in person from a seller I had few ways to size up made me nervous, especially with high-mileage as a factor.

So I played an all-too familiar game, hunting for leads on the common sites (CarGurus, Edmunds, Carfax, Autotrader, AAA, Ebay, Craigslist, and on and on). I got to the inspection phase on a few, but those always either turned up too many issues for me to pull the trigger, or delayed my purchase so long that someone else would swoop in and buy the truck before I could get the results back.

Then I came across an intriguing specimen: 2WD access cab with a manual transmission, 2005, only 62,000 miles. One-owner truck, and as I would learn, that one owner was an old farmer in Utopia, Texas who rarely ever took the truck off the farm (which accounts for the relatively low mileage). It had been posted for a while at a $10,500 asking price before I found it, but must not have generated much interest. I could hardly believe it, and expected it to sell quickly just as so many others had before, especially after the seller knocked $800 off asking price. It was missing the tailgate (owner had backed into something while it was down, decided to just toss the gate and never replaced it) so maybe that was enough to scare the usual suspects off. Not expecting much, I reached out and got rolling on an inspection through LemonSquad.

Seller was using an agent who owned a small repair and custom shop in San Antonio (and also happened to be the one who maintenanced the truck—mostly oil changes) and my negotiations went through him. I spoke with him on the phone several times, and he seemed like a straight-shooter. When the inspection came back, the results were the cleanest I had ever seen on a rig I was considering. There was a cracked rack and pinion boot and some pesky issues with the tire pressure monitoring system. The seller gamely agreed to fix the boot, but not the TPMS (“you can get out and check your own [expletive] tire pressure”—I can’t argue with that folksy wisdom). I arranged for a cashier’s check for $9,700, booked a flight for San Antonio plus that hotel room in Oklahoma, and was on my way.

 

I’m not exactly what you would call an impulsive buyer. Finding a truck I was willing to jump at took quite a bit of time and effort on my end, and years of looking and learning a few things were ultimately what got me to yes on this vehicle. But to say I was still a little nervous is an understatement. I’d never bought a used vehicle before, and certainly not one this far away, so I was putting a lot of weight on my gut and a seemingly thorough but impossible to verify pre-inspection. The unknown added a thrill, to be sure, but no small amount of dread, too.

The seller’s agent picked me up at the San Antonio airport (classy move, again—you go, Texans), and proceeded to regale me with a quick history of the area’s rapid growth. He seemed just as genuine in person as he had been on the phone, so I started to gain more confidence in my decision by the mile. When we got to his shop, I gave the truck a thorough walk-around, started her up and popped the hood.

Everything looked and sounded solid, except—what was this, the coolant was low? I noted it to the seller’s agent as I looked for evidence of fluid leaks, and he quickly disappeared into his shop for a jug to top me off. The engine bay and ground looked clean, and I went around the side to look at the exhaust: nothing concerning. The seller’s agent returned and quickly filled up the tank (perhaps going a bit high, in fact), and I put my concern aside.

In the moment, a head gasket problem did not seem overwhelmingly likely. The mileage was low and it had cleared the pre-inspection. Besides, I had already agreed in principle on the deal. Was I going to play hardball or walk after the seller had signed the purchase agreement, then head to the airport to buy an expensive ticket back home, or try and stick around town long past my planned departure and try to get another shop to look at it? With no palatable alternatives and no other signs of any issues, I handed over the check and received the title.

I had worked with a local salvage auto parts source to find a replacement for the missing tailgate, and my guy came through (I can highly recommend Thomas Crugnale at FindAPartNow.com, especially if you’re in the southern Texas area—he is the man). It is a perfect match, both in terms of color and mild amount of wear. He agreed to meet me at the seller’s shop and my truck was fully restored and operational before I hit the road.

My drive north was uneventful. After a late lunch at La Fiesta Patio Cafe (solid food, though I’m not the biggest aficionado in the world of puffy tacos), I decided to bypass Austin’s infamously horrible traffic and open up my new baby on the 130 tollway. Featuring the highest posted speed limits in the country at 85 mph and relatively few fellow cars, I was afforded the chance to see how she cruised at high speeds, and she did not disappoint. Other than my truck not featuring the right-leg saving cruise control feature (a silly luxury!), it otherwise motored along with aplomb. Enjoying plenty of college football broadcasts on the way, I rolled into Moore, OK around 9pm and settled into a restful sleep.

 

Next morning’s ride, however, began with an alarming discovery. That coolant tank showed a dramatically lowered coolant level. It was not empty by any means, but after being topped off the day before, it was down to about half full. I again checked for visible leaks, and finding none, began to fear the dreaded head gasket issue. “Why hadn’t I taken this seriously yesterday?” I muttered to myself. Still 600 miles from home, and with no other signs of engine distress (temp held steady and exhaust looked normal), I found the nearest AutoZone and topped off with coolant. Keeping a wary eye on the temperature gauge, I started off.

Although the truck continued to drive with no noticeable issues, my mind began rolling over the worst: if this is a head gasket, it would probably be over $1k to resolve, plus there was the question of how long the engine had been compromised. Did the previous owner drive it damaged for months? Would it start misfiring any minute? What if I break down in the middle of nowhere Missouri?

The miles rolled on and, thankfully, the truck was a total trooper. After checking it closely at every stop (the beast, as advertised, has a prodigious thirst for gas), it eventually delivered me home with no incident. I greeted the wife and kids with weary but thankful peace, and tried to put the worst what-ifs out of my mind. I had already resolved to have my trusted home mechanic inspect the truck when I got back, and so went to sleep knowing I’d get a firm answer soon enough.

The diagnosis: overfilled coolant tank (and a slightly neurotic new owner!). The likely culprit was a cold refill that went above the full slash, which necessitated a coolant reservoir purge which the truck performed according to design during my long trip. While I am continuing to keep an eye on the issue, I am cautiously optimistic that I can reserve my repair budget for the typical lower ball joints and water pump/timing belt replacements, which I figure to need sometime in the medium term.

 

More immediate projects will be to fill, patch, and cover the front seats (driver’s side was badly torn and missing a hunk of foam), absolutely deep cleaning the interior (quite a bit of funk and gunk built up in there), looking at rust prevention treatments near me (I don’t intend to let the salt eat this thing if I can help it), and start upgrading lights. I’ll keep sandbags in a frame in back, and the tires, though typical road tires, are at least pretty brand new. If my truck fails miserably in the snow, though, I’ll look into tire upgrade options next year (Falken Wildbeak A/Ts? Run some dedicated snow tires?).

But for now, I’m enjoying being the proud owner of my ‘05 Tundra. I’ve already had coworkers tell me that now that I have a truck, I won’t ever want to go back, and they very well may be right.

Thanks to everyone on the forums, and I hope you either found my trip report mildly interesting (poor souls must be starved for entertainment), or, if you are like me and are looking for a set of wheels, that you found some things to consider during your search. In short, this forum (and others like tacomaworld and ih8mud) are some of your best resources. They are great communities of people that are definitely enthusiasts, but also experienced owners who know the models in and out and can clue you in to major issues. Do your research, get the trucks inspected, look for maintenance history, evidence of accidents, fluid integrity, and beware the frame rot! And finally, be patient; keep your powder dry and your wits about you. The market is bonkers right now, but there are still some deals to be found for those willing to wait and watch.

I’ll be updating my slow (and hopefully minor) improvements and tweaks on this thread as I go, and I look forward to hopefully maintaining a small presence around the site.

 

Can I get a TLDR?

 

This is the "War and Peace" of introductions. Welcome to the forum, and good luck with your new rig.

 

God, I hope so. Nice looking truck though, welcome aboard.

 

Ha, well, when I sat down to write it, I felt like writing something I would have wanted to read when I was doing all my searching. I was always looking for clues as to what the search process was like what to look for and how to look, what a reasonable price point would be, how to gauge a seller. So my post kind of kept growing, and multiplying…

It is, in retrospect, kind of ridiculously long, but if it helps just one other person’s hunt, I’ll consider that a win.

 

Bravo sir. That's an epic introduction.

 

Nice introduction and thanks for the reading material, night shift sucks and your story provided me a nice little escape

 

Welcome from SoCal.

That's a very nice writing ability you have.

 

Welcome from NY.

 

Welcome! Helluva of a blog! I dug the in depth experience.

 

Welcome from SOCAL

 

Welcome from NC

 

Welcome!

 

How did you spell all those words correctly? And get the puncuation right? Your wife proofread it?

Welcome into the big Toyota truck life. Sit back and enjoy. I think you'll be staying a while.

 

Bravo, Sir. I still haven’t done an intro post, but I’m definitely not following this act immediately.

 

As a fellow searcher myself, welcome!

You'll want to pop the drivers side timing belt off and look at it. The 4.7L is an interference engine so if the timing belt goes... you'll be looking for a crate engine. Something I'm sure you've read in your internet travels.

Here's what my timing belt looked like on crackie (my 2000 RCLB, V8, 4WD.)

These belts have a life span of 100k miles or 7 years. Yours is overdue by the time stamp, but wouldn't hurt to do a full service. Water pump, thermostat, etc. I'd hate to see you lose that beautiful truck.

Wonder how much that guy would charge to ship a tailgate to KY?

 

Noah...car-part.com lists a white tailgate at Tompkinsville Auto Salvage for $75, and others nearby.

 

I believe I called the auto yard about that truck a while back. They told me they'd crushed it a few months ago

 

Oh. @Mr Cogito your first lesson about first gen threads is that we get off topic quickly!

 

okkaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy....welcome there guy...

 

Best intro I've ever read on a forum! Your propensity to use obscure vernacular is admirable and well noted. I'm a Math teacher by trade, but I have always welcomed the RLA aficionado. By the way, your new-to-you baby probably sat on the interwebz longer than you'd expect for two reasons: 2WD and manual transmission. Many folks want 4WD in a truck and the supply of stick shift drivers out there dwindles with the death of every baby boomer (unfortunately).

 

Welcome to the forums! Thanks for sharing your story. It's nice to have more than a "help me, something is broken" post for a first timer, never to return and offer anything back (even if just a follow up on the repair). This was a great read with my morning coffee. Congratulations on acquiring a fantastic first truck!

 

Awesome introduction and awesome truck! If you want cruise control, it just needs the stalk from an appropriate donor. There were about 3 models that used the right one. I think mine came from an 05 Solara if I remember right. It cost $20 at the junkyard and plugged right in on the steering column. Same deal on the intermittent wipers if you don’t have those.